Got my new 2013 S on nov. 1st and also realize now although the heater controls in the cabin seem to work, all it does is blow cold air. This sucks. Sounds like a trip back to the dealer is not going to get me much. Thank goodness for heated seats and steering wheel.

Medevac3 wrote:Got my new 2013 S on nov. 1st and also realize now although the heater controls in the cabin seem to work, all it does is blow cold air. This sucks. Sounds like a trip back to the dealer is not going to get me much.

Don't be so pessimistic. Yes, it may be a hassle to get it fixed. Yes it will reduce your range. But they will fix it under warranty, and it will warm the car quite nicely while driving after they do.

In our Swedish electric car forum we have had 2 people with the same problem as you guys. That is quite much since there is not even 10 Leaf owners in that forum.... It seems to be a common problem for sure!

We just took our new 2013 Leaf S into the dealer for this same problem. They said there are 50-60 cars ahead of us in line for this repair, that it's a known issue, and are providing us with a sentra as a loaner car until they have our part available around Christmas. We're not very happy at this point, but not sure what our options are.

I received a 2013 SV on 11/20. On warmer days the heat pump seemed to work alright. On 12/3 when temps got down into the single digits ( Fahrenheit ) the resistive heater did nothing and the heat pump did not seem to come on. Having no heat I took it to the dealer and they confirmed they think it is the PTC heater. They quoted me a minimum of a week and a half to get the part and get this fixed. They gave me a loaner car, but it sucks gas and does not have the nice snow tires I put on my leaf. Living on an unpaved hilly snowy road is not ideal for this loaner vehicle and I may have to walk up my dirt road in sub zero temps.

I am not so happy with this situation so far. I have yet to make my first lease payment, but it looks like I will be without my car for almost half of the month.

However when I did pick up the loaner vehicle from the dealership, the dealership owner talked to me about forming a local leaf club. I pointed out that I was not the best one to talk about the leaf, as mine broke in the first 1.5 weeks, and will take a minimum of 1.5 weeks to fix.

What have others done in this situation? From researching online, I thought the PTC issues were fixed for the 2013 models, but it sounds like this is still an issue.

Though I have an S model, I have had my heater "fixed" from no heat, but it is still pretty weak. This morning it was 15 degrees and I started warming it up 45 minutes before I left and it still had ice on the windshield and a back door was frozen shut. The interior though set at 85 degrees was sorta lukewarm.
I would ask for a loaner car that functions well in your conditions (perhaps 4WD), and ask for reimbursement on gas guzzled. If the dealer won't authorize it, you might try the Leaf consumer affairs folks. I had that set up but my car was only gone for a week and a half and I was out of town for most of that so I didn't bother with the $6 spent on gas.

Got my Leaf S w/QC in Oct. Heater worked fine for 2mos. It is now Dec and the heater just went out.
It's cold outside in Southern California (40 degrees F), but I really feel bad for those that live in really cold climates, pretty much everywhere else.

Took it to the dealer yesterday, they confirmed that heater was blowing cold air.
Strange that the GOM still goes down 5-8 miles when when blowing cold air.
Said part was backordered.

The heater on my 2013 leaf S was dead as soon as I drove it off the lot. It never warmed up. I took it back to the dealership and four weeks later it was replaced. The comped me for gas and my first leaf payment.
I see the same drastic reduction in mileage with the heater on. And when the heater is on, it still isn't much in keeping you warm when it is in the teens and single digits (F). It's a good thing the thank you gift from the dealer was a blanket

Does anyone have a good experience of the heater actually working in cold climates? When I put my hand up to the vent I can feel a little warmth but there is no way to actually get the car to room temperature.

MJGreen wrote:Got my Leaf S w/QC in Oct. Heater worked fine for 2mos. It is now Dec and the heater just went out.
It's cold outside in Southern California (40 degrees F), but I really feel bad for those that live in really cold climates, pretty much everywhere else.

Took it to the dealer yesterday, they confirmed that heater was blowing cold air.
Strange that the GOM still goes down 5-8 miles when when blowing cold air.
Said part was backordered.

At least there's seat and steering wheel heaters!

Waiting patiently for now.

jay

The "GOM", (Guess-O-Meter), which could also be called "AUM" (Almost Useless Meter) immediately reflects the fact that you have "turned on" the heater, even though it wasn't working.